Emerging from Cairo’s vibrant underground, FHMY is an experimental solo musician crafting raw, genre-blurring soundscapes that resist easy categorisation. Drawing influence from IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), math-rock, shoegaze, post-rock and emo, this Egyptian artist’s work is as much an excavation of personal trauma as it is an exploration of collective emotion. At the heart of FHMY’s music lies a reckoning with themes of male isolation, depression and the disorienting weight of life in a capitalist, consumer-driven world. Sandwiched in between those heavier themes, you’ll find snippets of youthful nostalgia, such as anime, video games and films from his youth, which act as anchors in the overwhelming sea of life. FHMY’s recently released album, The World You Grew Up In, No Longer Exists, is a controlled chaos of distorted guitars, fractured beats and haunting samples relate an intimate experience of inner turmoil and longing for connection. For On The Record, we discuss the significance of the album with FHMY, particularly how music became his most enduring form of survival.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with FHMY, can you introduce yourselves?
FHMY is just my last name Fahmy without the A. Since everyone calls me Fahmy, I decided to just stick with that. I’m a solo musician from Cairo,Egypt and I grew up in the suburbs of Maadi, probably the hippiest place in Cairo. I have been doing music since 2018 self taught and I always stay inside to listen to new music like a nerd.
Your album is a bold fusion of dance, math-rock, emo and shoegaze, so what led you to pull so many influences together?
I think my entrance to this initially was from bands like American Football, Slowdive and Toe. I then got inspired more by the Microphones, who really fused whatever was in his head to make a mess of an album. I decided I would want to make my album a “coherent mess”, not sticking to one genre, but sticking true to what I feel, whether its electronic, math rock or shoegaze.
Do you think these various elements help you explore the heavy themes of male isolation and trauma?
I think shoegaze and emo definitely gave me a new language to express my feelings, as “consuming” music or certain movies are what mostly move me. That along with some films I’ve experienced, so yea these elements 100% helped me explore my own reflection.
You’ve come up with such an evocative title for the album, The World You Grew Up In, No Longer Exists – can you explain the story behind this?
Everything has changed but people cling to some form of past they yearn for, me included. Nostalgia is peaceful, and it’s why Capitalism has “clinged” to nostalgia as an agent for its own personal gain. Older generations always reminisce about the past, younger generations feel like they got cheated for not having this experience. I think my message is a pessimistic outlook on the world under the umbrella: “things will never be the same again”.
How did growing up in Cairo shape the sonic and emotional themes you explore as FHMY?
Cairo is a wonderful clusterfuck of a city, I grew up in a quiet neighborhood and even though the chaos of Cairo is overstimulating for me most times, it will always be home. And my exposure to music here is sincere, with great local musicians or great music nerds who became friends that we would share with. And discovering things like emo, shoegaze or noise rock in my teens was just perfect for the climate.
You also take clips from anime, games and films to incorporate into your music, so what are some special samples we should listen out for?
In memoriesyouwillneverfeelagain, the sample in the outro was from the movie Mirrors by Andrei Tarkovsky, where I sample a poem recited in the movie called Life. Telling the listener it is ok to fear whats next, but its not ok to cower away
In I Keep on Not Dying, the outro is from Rei’s poem in Neon Genesis Evangelion, a reflection of the human condition in an existential package
In You Can’t Live Forever, the vocal sample is from Steinsgate, and I wont spoil it for anyone who still didn’t finish the anime hahah
Who were the three albums that changed the way you approached making music?
The Glow Part 2 by the Microphones.
Loveless by my bloody valentine.
Untrue by Burial
Which tools or plugins are indispensable for shaping your sound?
I have A Big Muff pedal for the bass, I use it as a drive booster, and I used it in all my bass recordings
For the shoegaze parts of my LP, the melee pedal from Walrus was essential for creating walls of noise.
How do you want listeners to feel when they finish the album for the first time?
I just want my listeners to reflect, whether they were happy or sad overall, but to reflect on their events and process their past.
Following the release of your album, what will be next on the horizon for you?
Currently, I am working on a few singles with musicians in Egypt, Korea and China, then down the road I will probably experiment in a new LP, one that is more experimental and noisier than my debut.
You can find title-track ‘The World You Grew up in No Longer Exists’ in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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